Switzerland’s largest online retailer Ricardo.ch is for sale

Naspers is considering a sale of its ecommerce site Ricardo.ch. The largest online retailer in Switzerland is owned by Naspers since 1998, but according to Bloomberg the South-African media group is looking for a new buyer. Apparently, preparations for a sale are at an early stage.

As Bloomberg stresses, these are not hard facts, but based on people with knowledge of the situation and who asked not to be identified because the information is still private. They also said that while Naspers is interviewing banks to discuss the process, it hasn’t yet hired an adviser.

Ricardo.ch is a Swiss brand and was founded in 1998. It’s now one of the brands online auction company Tradus is operating with in Europe. The company sells fashion and electronics and operates online marketplaces for cars and other products. According to Bloomberg’s sources the company may be valued at as much as 385 million euros. Potential buyers could be Swiss media groups Ringier and Tamedia. Naspers as well as Ringier declined to comment on this rumor, while a spokesperson for Tamedia said the company is “continously evaluating investment opportunities.”

Naspers wants to invest in ecommerce companies
Naspers was founded in 1915 and now provides services in over 130 countries worldwide, in particular in Russia, China, Asia, South-America en some parts of Africa. The company has gained 18% this year, giving it a market value of 37.7 billion euros. When Ricardo.ch gets a new owner, Naspers has more capital to invest in emerging ecommerce markets. The company is increasing its bets on digital businesses in markets like China and Africa. Naspers already owns large stakes in Chinese internet portal Tencent, as well as Russian media company Mail.ru.